The Role of Marketing Manager

Marketing plays an important role in almost every industry sector. In its simplest form, it is about ensuring that customers' needs are met whilst maximising the profits of a company. A marketing manager's responsibilities can vary enormously, but will always have this as a central objective.

Daily tasks and duties will depend on the company size, structure and industry sector but may include:

monitoring and analysing market trends
studying competitors' products and services
exploring ways of improving existing products and services, and increasing profitability
identifying target markets and developing strategies to communicate with them.
Most marketing managers work 37 hours a week, between the hours of 9am and 6pm. As with many jobs with tight deadlines, they may be expected to work additional hours at certain times to ensure that targets are met. Some positions may require a lot of travel, particularly when working for an international company.

Salaries can range from around £25,000 a year for someone new to the role, to £40,000 or more for a senior manager.

A marketing manager should:

have knowledge of a wide range of marketing techniques and concepts
be an excellent communicator
be able to respond well to pressure
think creatively
be interested in what motivates people
All industry sectors employ marketing managers. Jobs are generally concentrated around major cities such as London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Liverpool. This is a popular area of work so competition can be intense.

There are no set entry routes, but marketing managers often progress into the role after gaining several years of marketing experience, possibly as an executive or assistant, or in a specialist role such as advertising or brand manager. Typically, employers look for graduates.

On-the-job training is complemented by professional marketing qualifications. These range from introductory certificates to advanced level qualifications.

A successful marketing manager may be able to progress to more senior posts such as marketing director or even managing director. It may be possible to work abroad.